Thursday, November 3, 2011

NY Times Olive Oil Granola

Wow- I absolutely loved this granola. This love made me feel guilty about "cheating" on my first love, "The Granola", but after making The Granola regularly for the last 5+ years, I got the itch to try a new recipe and was so glad I did! (I still love you, first love Granola. It's ok).

I was intrigued, first of all, by the use of olive oil in this recipe. There was actually so much olive oil in here that I had to add an extra cup of oats because the mixture was so wet. Next time, I would try 1/3 cup olive oil instead of 1/2 cup. This recipe calls for 3/4 cup of maple syrup- I used 1/2 cup maple syrup and 1/4 cup agave nectar (trying it out for the first time). I totally forgot to add the 1/2 cup brown sugar and was glad, because it was plenty sweet with all of that maple syrup and agave nectar. I will omit that from the recipe posted below.

I LOVED the pistachios, pepitas (hulled pumpkin seeds), cinnamon, and especially cardamom in this! The flavor combo was SO good!! You might notice the almonds in the photo- that's because I ran out of pistachios and had to use part almonds/part pistachios. I've since bought more pistachios, so next time (and it will happen soon), I'm going to use 1 cup raw pistachios and 1/2 cup whole almonds, because I really do like almonds in my granola. After baking (and after taking these pics), I added some dried cranberries to this (instead of the dried apricots called for).

In the recipe below, I changed the oats amount from 3 to 4 cups. I also suggest you start out with 1/3 cup olive oil and add a bit more if needed. PS: I made this over a month ago when I could still get a few good nectarines here and there. :( Those days are over! Waaaah!

Note: If your oats are gluten-free, this granola is a gluten free food! (Many oats are processed in the same facilities as wheat and other gluten-containing products, so many oats are "contaminated" with gluten.) I'll include a Gluten-Free tag on this; chances are, if you cook gluten-free, you already know to look for gluten-free oats. :)

Dishy, I made this today and it is SO delicious! You're right, it does rival THE Granola. I was concerned about the amount of oil in it compared to the other granola, and didn't read your caution in time to reduce the amount of oil. I will definitely try that next time. Like you, I left out the brown sugar. I love the cardamom-cinnamon combo. And the pistachios taste so good toasted. I threw in about 1/2c walnuts for their omega3 benefits. I'll probably add in some of my usual ingredients, next time, like flaxseed, etc. Thanks for the great find! ☺

JPee, I'm so glad you liked it!! I love the cardamom-cinnamon too. Good call on the walnuts. I did reduce the oil (to 1/3 cup) the last time I made this, and it still worked out well, it just wasn't as "wet" as before. I might trying to add 1 Tablespoon or water but it prob. doesn't need it. It was still really good.

About Me

I love living overseas- I've now spent over half my life living in other countries! I love food and travel. I hope you will enjoy the recipes and photos I share with you. If you have questions, (nice) comments, or feedback about a recipe or something else, I'd love to hear from you!